Healthy, gluten free, high protein and calorie conscious creations

Tag: healthy food

Well I do owe you some explaining my dear readers, but first of all: I’ve missed you and the blog. Secondly; I haven’t really been able to update the blog because of a couple of reasons and I do owe you (and myself) an apology.

Tough times

I’ve lost a family member and it’s has just been extremely tough to cope everything and juggle work plus studies at the same time. This accident made me forget how therapeutic baking and cooking can be so the last weeks I’ve been living of quark and quest bars, every day.

At first I was just buried in work and studying and sort of distracted myself but now I feel like I’m really getting better day by day and I’ve recently rediscovered my passion for baking. It’s truly therapeutic and gives me so much needed peace. But let’s forget about all that! Here’s a recipe I’ve been experimenting with lately:

Preheat the oven to 350 F or 175 C and grease a 8×8 inch or 22×22 cm big baking pan. Combine all the dry ingredients for the bars in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients besides the fiber syrup. Mix the wet with the dry and pour the sirap into a small bowl and microwave on high for about 20 seconds. Quickly pour the boiling syrup into the batter and stir. Once fullt combined; pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for about 13 minutes.

University, huh? New job, huh? New gym routine, huh? New diet, huh? Well.. all I can say is that I’ve been busy working two jobs and studying. On top of that; I had to rethink my whole gym and exercise routine and start a diet period that requires a lot of planning and thinking. So you could say that there are many changes coming my way right now. I’m fairly young and it’s normal for people my age but as soon as I’ll settle in my new life I’ll be back blogging. Meanwhile, take a look at this recipe for healthy fudge.

Packed with healthy fats and protein, this fudge has no sugar nor bad stuff; it’s just pure deliciousness that’s naturally grain and gluten free. It’s also a very fair way to stick to your diet.

Recipe rundown

1 T lemon juice

1/2 T coconut oil (15 g)

One can precooked, drained and rinsed white beans (or other beans, I used a mix) (200 g)

1 T coconut flour (14 g)

2 soaked medjool dates (11 g)

1 t toffee or vanilla essence

Sweetener to taste

Puree the beans using a hand blender or a food processor and add the rest of the ingredients. Cover a small dish with plastic wrap and spread out the mixture evenly. Cover the mixture with another layer of plastic wrap and press it down to make it spread even. Leave in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight.

Macros for 1 piece out of 8:

Calories: 47

Fats: 2 g

Protein: 2 g

Carbs: 5 g

Now I’m going to grab one of these pre workout muffins before it’s time to hit the running track and then I’m off to work! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for more updates. What’s your Instagram account? 🙂

I got myself a second job yesterday and I’ve been pretty busy these last days. This blog does not focus on my life so therefore I try to avoid writing about my personal life (not because it’s some sort of a secret, it’s just not exciting enough to be mentioned more than once or twice). However, I’m pretty stoked to tell you that I’m lucky to work as a waitress at a Japanese fusion/sushi restaurant where food is really amazing. It’s really nothing else than a ordinary waitress position but I get to eat my way through the whole menu and learn so much from the cooks that I’m super excited about working there. So look out because more Asian influences are coming your way.

This blog makes it possible for me to recommend you good products and for you to discover cheap ingredients that improves your dieting.. Some of the products that appear on my blog are sponsored but only the products I find really useful and worth the money are shown. This time I received a couple of products from Myprotein. Although I haven’t been able to try all the products, I’m really satisfied with the products I’ve tried from the site so far. One of the products I received was their whey impact protein powder. Hands down the best value for money I’ve found so far. It’s a fairly cheep whey powder (whey is the most commonly used among fitness geeks, because it’s a water–soluble milk protein) that comes in over 50 different flavors.

The verdict

The powder itself is rich in flavor, has a intense smell and a clear taste of toffee. It behaves perfectly in baked goods and even though I used quite a bit in my cupcakes their texture didn’t come out “chalkboardy” at all. Another plus is that it dissolves in water really quickly which is rather good because who likes lumps in their shake? Although I’m fairly pleased with it there was two down sides: there was no scoop attached and the taste might be a little to sweet for some people (so watch how much sweetener you add to your whey creation!) However, consider the price this is a great protein when you’re looking for no-frill powder without excess amino acids that actually does the job and tastes good.

So either if it’s your first time using a protein powder or if you’re down with the alternatives; Myprotein offers a good variety of choices for a very low price. I’ve only tried the toffee one but I’ve read some good reviews about lemon cheesecake and apple crumble and custard as well so I’ll be trying one of these next time.

If you’re not sure which one to buy I higly recommend sampling first. Some of the tastes sounds just bizarre but others on the other hand sound actually quite good. If you want to bake a couple of cupcakes with this whey, I have a recipe that is versatile enough to carry most of the flavors. It’s a basic protein and low calorie cupcake recipe that I love to bake in freeze in some pre/post workout treats. Those are

Start with hearing up the oven to 350 F or 190 C. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whip the egg in a small bowl and the egg whites in another bowl.

Start adding all the wet ingredients besides the chopped banana, egg and egg whites. Taste the mixture and add more sweetener if needed. Your mixture should be a bit over seasoned. Carefully stir in banana first and then the eggs plus whites and stir briefly. Pour the batter into 12 silicone molds and bake in the oven for about 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool before devouring with a nice cup of tea.

Do you remember these rolls? I got so attached to bananas plus cloves that I added that combo to almost everything, including my calorie conscious version of cinnamon rolls but I wasn’t as pleased as I could be with the macros of these buns so I promised to come up with a better version. So this is the 2.0 version and the second attempt to make low calorie rolls. My family approved of them flavorwise and I finally felt pleased with the macros but am I done experimenting and tweaking something so beautiful and delicious such as a traditional cinnamon roll? I think not.

Heat up your milk and dissolve your yeast in the milk if the product you’re using requires that (mine didn’t so I skipped this step). Blend the milk with the half of quark (1/2 cup, 1 dl or 100 g) and 1 cup butternut puree, the apple sauce, salt, vinegar and the sweetener. In a separate bowl, mix the protein powder, baking powder, guar gum, the husks, and all the flours and slowly add the blend to your milk mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides. Let it rise and rest in a warm and dark place for about one and an half hour.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining puree and the quark along with some seasoning of choice. I added some sweetener, cinnamon and salt. Add to taste but this is going to be your filling so make it tasty and way to spicy/sweet. It’ll blend perfectly with dough since it’s has not got any bold flavors!

Once the dough is done resting, transfer it onto a floured surface. Knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough. If the dough sticks to your hands (too wet) add a little extra flour. Roll out the dough into a huge rectangle and spread out your filling. Beginning at the long side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 18 slices and place the slices directly in a greased baking pan or into paper molds. Let the dough rise for about half an hour under a clean kitchen towel and oh, do not forget to heat up the oven to 420 F or 250 C while your dough is resting. Bake it in the oven for about 7-8 minutes or until the buns look done. You may do whisk together a glaze while they cool:

God I love chocolate. This was made for my birthday by me and my family approved. It’s a improved version of the fudge cake that I made a couple of weeks ago. I wanted more volume so I decided upon making more of a mousse cake instead of a decadent torte. The outcome was a silky chocolate mousse pie that came out a bit more voluminous than the previous cake. Here’s the recipe rundown for this rich afternoon treat:

This cake is superb if you lack time to make a proper cake. All you have to to is preheat the oven to 350 F or 180 C and puree the tofu, avocado and the beans in a blender or food processor and add the rest of the ingredients expect for the eggs and the egg whites. Taste the batter and season it to your preferences and then add the egg + egg whites! Bake it in a spring ban for about 35-45 minutes or until inserted tooth pick comes out clean.

Looking for a cookie to fuel your workout? This hearty oatmeal creations are good for both breakfast and a pre workout meal. They’re packed with fiber, protein and so much other good stuff that you immediately feel ready to hit the running track. I ate a few before I went off to the gym and I wasn’t weighted down at all.

Heat up the oven to 350 F or 180 C and line a baking pan with parchment paper (or wax paper like I use). Blend all the dry ingredients expect for the raisins and 1/3 cup oats and then add all the wet ones and blend in a blender until smooth. Transfer the dough back to your bowl and blend in the raisins and the oats. You mad add some water if it’s very dry but you should be able to roll the dough into 12 little balls. Place the balls on the baking pan and flatten out using your hand. Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes or take them out as soon as your home starts to smell wonderfully.

Gooey, chewy, moist and dense sure is the way I like my bread. It shouldn’t be crumbly but a bit airy and still dense and have a crispy outside. However, that only covers for the texture; the taste is just as important. I’m having a tough time creating a tasty gluten free bread that’s not very unhealthy nor packed with calories.

This night something really strange happened. Last night, I was a bit down because my bread was a disaster and I really thought is would be a winner. I was about to threw the two freshly baked loafs in the garbage when I said to myself: You know what, let’s keep it overnight and see what happens. Most gluten free baked goods tend to get worse the next day so I wasn’t quite hopeful. Although, this morning, when I woke up I walked straight to the kitchen and found out that my bread, that once was a crumbly disgusting disaster was now firm and tasted twelve times better. It wasn’t only tasty and fairly skinny for a bread, it was fairly easy to make, packed with proteins and good fats and carbs as well. In other words, it’s a perfect pre workout bread. Oh, I’ve had like four slices for breakfast and now I’m really full.

*I don’t see why you couldn’t use active dry yeast instead. However, I live in Sweden and my local groceries only have fresh yeast because it’s really hard to find instant yeast and I’ve never even seen active dry yeast around here. It should be a sweet yeast do so maybe something like this.

Start with heating up the crushed tomatoes to about 110 F or 37 C and add the yeast, then set aside. In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients and add the yeast mixture along with the water and egg. Stir it briefly and cover the dough with a towel and place it in a warm and dark place (not to warm tho! The temperature shouldn’t be higher than the temperature of the water). If you’re house is cold, a dryer is a good place for it to rise. Let the dough rest and rise for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare two smaller loaf pans (8 inch x 4 or 20×10 cm) and heat up the oven to 480 F or 250 C. Once the dough has risen, transfer it to the pans and put it in the oven while turning down the temperature to 390 F or 200 C. Bake for about 40 minutes (check with a toothpick, it should’t be too sticky) and let it rest over night under a towel for the love of God.

If you think dieting means eating cod and salad every day then you sure are wrong my friend. I just had a whole pizza for dinner. Yes, this is a pizza that is actually good for you and no, you’re not cheating. 😀 It’s low calorie and high protein so you can have the whole pizza without any guilt feels at all. crispy and filling that leaves you satisfied for only 195 calories and can easily be done for a vegan too (it’s 140 calories if you sub the egg for the flax eggs). Doesn’t it sound like every dieters dream?

Blend the yeast with the water and set aside. Blend the psylium seeds with a splash of almond milk and set aside. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and add the cauliflower and the egg. Stir in the seeds and the yeast. Feel free to add more gluten free flour if the dough is to dry! Cover the bowl with a towel. Let rest for at least half an hour in a warm and dark place. I use my dryer for this and I’m not even kidding you.

Meanwhile, heat up your oven to 400 F or 200 C and prep all your toppings. Once the dough is done resting, press it in a rounded baking pan (about 10 inch or 27 cm) and bake in the oven until crispy and golden brown (10-20 min). Lastly, add all your toppings and bake it in the oven until all the toppings are done!

WELCOME! I’m glad to see you!

Looking back food has always played a huge part in my life. As a kid I cooked along with the TV cooks and later on I started to cook for my family on a daily basis. Practically, the only thing I prefer over cooking and baking is eating. However, ever since I've lost 80 pounds my one true passion has been to create healthy food that won't make you barf. This ain't some ordinary food blog where you gain weight just by reading the recipes and looking at the pictures; my goal is to create satisfying and calorie conscious recipes that are packed with flavor and makes dieting much easier.